What We Do
by PrincessBellePrinceAdam
Summary: "Wally?" she questions, and it comes out as a terrified scream.


_A/N: I'm not really sure where this came from. I had the image of Artemis trying to rescue a hurt Wally in my head and just wrote around it._

**What We Do**

She lets the arrow fly and waits for the explosive imbedded in the tip to detonate before making her way into the warehouse. "Wally?" she questions, and it comes out as a terrified scream. "Wally?"

It occurs to Artemis that she should not be calling for him with his civilian name but she does not care. All she wants is to see him and his stupid grin and his stupid freckles safe and sound. She doesn't want to think about finding him any other way.

He staggers into view. "Artemis…?" he croaks, his voice weak. "They got me with something that's stopping me from healing myself. I called for help but I must be out of range. Can you help me out of here?" Wally slumps against the wall, sliding onto his butt.

She kneels beside him, trying to assess the damage. He seems to be in one piece, but his eyes are dark and his skin is pale. She guesses maybe they've poisoned him. "Can you move at all?"

Wally nods. "I can move. Not very fast, but fast enough to get out of here if I had someone to lean on."

Artemis hauls him to his feet, and he leans heavily on her. "Easy," she warns, trying to steady him. _'Megan? Kaldur? Anyone?'_ It's useless; they're still out of range for Miss Martian's mind link. "It's going to be fine," she tries to assure the redhead. "Let's move."

She feels very uneasy as the two move slowly towards the exit. It's going to be hard to defend Wally if she can't use her bow. "Come on," she urges, "There's something not right about this place."

There's a cold laugh from somewhere in the shadows. Artemis releases her hold on Kid Flash and he collapses near her feet at once. He mumbles something that she doesn't catch as she reaches into her quiver for an arrow. She recognizes that cruel sound and she hopes she's a good enough actress to pull this off.

"Artemis…" the owner of the laugh murmurs, and her muscles tense. "Why haven't you been reporting to me? I'm starting to get suspicious…"

The blonde teen puts on her best blank mask. This is critical. "It's difficult to find the time, Dad," she says. "Earning trust is a slow process. And it's hard to seem trustworthy if I'm running off all the time."

"Fair enough. So what _can_ you tell me about the Justice League?"

Artemis glances down at Wally. He seems to have passed out, which admittedly makes her task easier. At least he can't pester her with questions. "Not as much as I hoped to learn. I haven't gotten close enough to find their weak link yet. But it's coming along, Dad. I swear." The archer lets a little desperation make its way into her voice.

"Maybe you're getting soft. Maybe your loyalty is beginning to waiver. Prove your allegiance. Kill the boy."

Dread fills her. "I can't. The others think he's my boyfriend. If I do anything to him, my cover will be blown. They'll know I'm the mole." Artemis is not the praying type, but she says one anyway. _'Please let him buy it.'_

"Very well. You will report when you are supposed to from now on. You wouldn't want what happened to your mother to happen again."

And her father vanishes. Artemis can't help but feel relieved. She looks at Kid Flash again. His eyes are open. "Want to tell me what's going on?" he asks in his same weak voice, and she realizes he's been conscious the whole time. But Artemis notices a distinct lack of the distrust she would have expected from the older boy.

"Later," she says firmly. "Get up."

0o0o0o0

She tells her team and the Justice League what happened. The other Young Justice members looked surprised to learn she's a spy, but they all express their awe at how well she plays her role. Artemis privately wishes her secret hadn't been revealed. She knows her team and they will go out of their way to make sure every bad guy they fight from now on knows she's trusted. Too much may make the Light suspicious. She makes a note to tell them to act normally.

All Artemis wants is to get some rest, but she knows she has to see Wally. He's recuperating from the attack. Batman says he's going to be fine once he gets his strength back. The blonde archer has been informed more than once that he's been asking for her.

When she gets to the med bay, he's sitting up and looking expectant. "Decided to show your face, huh?" he asks with a smirk, but Artemis knows he's only kidding. "Guess you weren't lying about your dad wanting you to kill me."

The flippant tone angers her. "Don't joke about that. You have no idea how many people are dead because of him. I was _not_ going to let you be added to the body count." Artemis realizes just how defensive she sounds. She takes a deep breath to steady herself.

"Didn't realize how much you cared, beautiful." Wally's looking serious now, something she's never seen on his face. The expression looks out of place amongst the freckles. His voice is solemn when he asks, "What if he didn't believe I was your boyfriend?"

"He would have killed you," she whispers. "And he would have figured out that I'm not spying for him at all. Which would mean everything I've risked was a waste of time."

Wally nods. "Why are you doing this, anyway? I think after death threats, I deserve the truth." His voice isn't harsh; it's more concerned than anything. There's a gentle look in his eyes that says he wants her to confide in him. Artemis isn't even embarrassed of the fact that she wants nothing more.

"Long story," she murmurs.

"I'm not going anywhere," Kid Flash counters.

The blonde girl has to admit he's got a point. She perches on the edge of his bed and he winds his fingers through hers as if it's the most natural thing in the world. "When I was born, my parents were far from model citizens. My mom got out of it; she wanted to do right by me. It wasn't that way for my dad. He wanted to use me, to make me into a weapon. I did what I was told because I was afraid not to. Only one day…I couldn't do it. He'd never asked me to assassinate anyone before and I'm no murderer." She's shaking now and Wally releases her hand to draw her into his arms.

"So I didn't do it. I couldn't. He was very angry. That's why my mom's in a wheelchair. It was my punishment."

Wally's arms circle her tighter and Artemis realizes idly how safe she feels. "After my mom's 'accident' all I wanted was to make sure my dad didn't hurt anyone else. So I came up with the idea of pretending to spy on the League, when in reality I'm only passing on irrelevant information or nothing at all."

"And here I thought _I_ was the adrenaline junkie," he remarks, and he feels relieved to see a smile tugging at the corners of Artemis's mouth. "So we have our work cut out for us. Good."

She can only gape at him. "Good? No, Wally. It's bad. The things they can do to the people who get in their way are sickening. This is _not_ good."

"But you've got us," he says softly. "Now that we're all on the same page, everything's going to be that much easier. Taking down the bad guys is what we do."

Artemis looks into his eyes. She almost believes it'll be that easy.


End file.
